Cold Exposure Deaths Higher in Rural Western Areas of US

Below:

Next story in Science

Every year, thousands of people die from exposure to the cold
across the United States. But there are far more of these
cold-related deaths in rural counties in the West than there are
in other areas of the country, a new study finds.

About 5,800 people died from exposure to cold from 2010 to 2013,
according to the study, from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), which was published online today (March 12) in
the British Medical
Journal.

"With all of our resources, we will have elderly people or very
young babies who are still simply dying because the weather is
cold, which is completely preventable," said Dr. Susi Vassallo,
an associate professor of emergency medicine at the New York
University School of Medicine, who was not involved with the
study.

After adjusting for age, the CDC researchers found that the
cold-related death rate in rural western areas was 20.5 deaths
per 1 million people. (Western states include those along or west
of the Rocky Mountains.) The mountain states had a higher rate of
cold-related deaths than the coastal states, with the highest
rates in rural Arizona and New Mexico, the researchers found.
[ Top
10 Leading Causes of Death ]

For comparison, the death rate in other nonmetropolitan areas of
the country ranged from 4.5 to 7.8 deaths per 1 million people.
The cold-related death rates in the nation's metropolitan areas
were even lower, ranging from 2.9 to 5.0 deaths per million, the
study found.

It's unclear exactly why areas in the West have a higher rate of
cold-related deaths. Studies suggest that people have an
increased risk of dying from the cold if they live in places with
rapid temperature shifts, large shifts in nighttime temperatures
or high elevation, according to a 2014 CDC
report, and all of these occur in regions such as the Rocky
Mountains.

Furthermore, weather-related deaths — including those from
storms, lightning and floods — are two to seven times higher in
low-income counties than in high-income counties, the 2014 study
found. Many of the rural counties in the American West have high
rates of poverty.

The groups at greatest risk of cold-related deaths include the
elderly, infants, men, African Americans and people with
pre-existing chronic medical conditions, such as cardiovascular
and respiratory illnesses, that 2014 report also found.

Vassallo noted that the new report did not distinguish among
people who had died from
outdoor accidents, such as mountaineers who lose their way,
and those who died while living on the streets or enduring other
hardships, such poverty.

But still, she said, people who are elderly or who have low
levels of income may not turn on heat in the winter, so they can
save money. And people in rural areas are usually located far
from caring neighbors and medical and social services that can
help people in need, she said.

Unless these services expand and improve, these cold-weather
deaths will likely continue, she said. Since the 1950s, North
American winter temperatures have grown milder, but the country
has also seen an increase in storm frequency and intensity during
the fall and winter, according to the
2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment. Extremely low
temperatures are not uncommon during these times, the assessment
found.